Monday, 8 April 2013

It disgusts me..

It disgusts me..

Yes I’ll admit it. I fight for women’s rights,
empowerment and protection. But I also fight for gender equality which includes
men’s rights, empowerment and protection; and it disgusts me when I read about
men being victimized, and people criticizing and insulting those victims for
talking out and seeking assistance in attaining justice for their
victimization. Just because they’re men doesn’t make them less worthy or less
deserving of attaining justice.

Violence against women occurs so much now that it has
become the “norm”; on the other hand, violence against men, happens all around
the world and manifests itself in various forms, but it so underreported and
shunned upon, that when male victims speak out about their victimized they are
further rejected.

Recently, a 19 year old boy was sexually assaulted by 4
women in Toronto. Commentators, criticizers and disrespectful critics spent so
much time talking about the weight of the assaulters, their age and the fact
that their victim was a 19 year old guy that they completely bypassed what
really happened. A 19 year old guy was
sexually assaulted – period.A crime
occurred, leaving a man victimized and forever scarred.

Here were some of their unnerving comments:

-“How’s that assault shouldn’t that be called
Heaven RT @CP24: Men sexually assaulted by 4 women after leaving club” -
@big_business

Ultimately, for a million reasons and more (including the
above examples,) I have so much respect for the authors who post some of the
most thought provoking and inspirational pieces on the Good Men Project
website. Aside from their many goals and purposes, some of their main reasons
for having this site (in my belief) are: to redefine what it means to be a
male; to redefine the term “masculinity,” and to re-examine how the
pre-existing masculine image negatively impacts a growing/adult male’s life
experiences (especially when they are victimized – as in this case).

The authors of the Good Men Project, remind us all of so
many important factors about male victimization, that we so often (and
coincidently) forget, because we’re so blinded by the media’s interpretation of
masculinity vs. victimization (vulnerability).

Here are some of those critical reminders:

-“First and foremost, we’re stuck on the term
rape, which is still a very gendered term. Until last year, the federal
definition of rape only covered the forcible penetration of a man’s penis in a
woman’s vagina [...] We can talk about how sexual violence impacts some worse
than others. It’s a lot easier to discuss, debate and become irate about these
differences (some of which are important) rather than focusing on how a
gendered conversation shuts out the potential to work together to call an end
to all types of sexual violence […] Men are victims of sexual violence” – Sarah
Beaulieu

-“Please tell the United Nations that males get
HIV/AIDS from being trafficked too” – Cameron Conaway

-“For a problem to be solved we must first see it
for what it is. This applies to anything from fundamental calculus to fiscal
cliffs. I can’t pretend to know much about either, but I’ve learned enough in
my extensive research into sex trafficking to know this: the sex trafficking of
boys is essentially absent from the conversation […] “The public isn’t ready
for it,” I’ve been told. Truth is, we only speak about the victimization of
boys when it’s forced on us by breaking-news scandals like those of Jerry
Sandusky or The Boys Scouts of America. As the news story fades so too does the
conversation”

It is so important that we spend critical time redefining
these concepts of ‘what it means to be a man’ or what ‘masculinity’ means, so
that we can eliminate these horrible criticisms over male victims speaking out
and trying to get help. Just because they are men doesn’t make them less deserving
of justice. They experience horrific incidents of victimization just as much as
women do; and they should have equal right in fighting for their justice, their
rights and their protection.

Yes, I fight for women’s rights, empowerment and
protection – but, I also fight for men’s rights, empowerment and protection;
and I have to thank the Good Men Project for a lot of that.

If you’re reading this – please visit any one of their
links for more info on them: